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Exquisite And Hardy, Daylily Is A Proven Superstar

(NAPS)—If daylilies have taken over your garden, you have lots of company. Once a part of the Lily family, they are now a genus of their own and popular with home gardeners across the nation. Exquisite and easy to grow, daylilies are most vivid and crisp looking in the morning.

This year’s winner of the cov- eted All-American title is the Lavender Vista, which pairs pro- fuse, clear lavender blooms with lush evergreen foliage. This com- bination creates harmony with pink, lavender and purple com- panion plants. Most lavender daylilies require a trade-off between bloom beauty, foliage quality and performance. This variety encompasses all of these things. The blooms are 5-6” across with a green throat and rest upon 20-24” scapes. The vigorous, arch- ing foliage is 16-22” tall and the masses of blooms are held just above these uniform mounds.

Blooms 88 Days A Year

This spectacular variety blooms an average of 88 days per year, tolerates much more shade than most daylilies, and guarantees a stun- ning display on slopes, as a border or in containers. The title All American Daylily is not just an award granted to the prettiest cultivar, but rather given only to those rare daylily varieties that have demonstrated superior performance in dozens of criteria across at least five USDA hardiness zones.

While daylilies love sun, they will also tolerate part shade. You may also wish to plant the darker colored daylilies in filtered shade, particular in the hot South where the sun may tend to fade darker colors.

Black-Eyed Stella, the first to receive the All-American title in 1994, is best known for its land- scape performance as a nearly continuous bloomer. Two other winners, Lullaby Baby and Star- stuck were honored for their exquisite beauty. The 2006 win- ner, Buttered Popcorn, is a large, buttery-gold bloom that boasts nearly continuous blooming from mid-season to fall.